Actions from Katie EvartsMovable Type Pro 4.382010-04-16T02:20:43Zhttp://www.kcet.org/user/profile/yttckathleen/feed/mt-cp.cgi?__mode=feed&_type=actions&username=evartsPosted Facebooking Marine At Temecula Tea Party to Dream Interruptedtag:kcet.org,2010:/socal/dream_interrupted//62.32342010-04-16T09:20:43Z2010-05-21T01:40:10ZA young Marine faced scrutiny when he launched an "Armed Forces Tea Party" page. After a review, the Marine Corps now says he hasn't violated any military regulations. So he celebrated. With a tea party.Katie Evartshttp://www.kcet.org/cgi-bin/mt/mt-cp.cgi?__mode=view&blog_id=616&id=141

Sgt. Gary Stein voluntarily took down the "Armed Forces Tea Party" page Tuesday but relaunched it Wednesday after receiving support from the American Civil Liberties Union and being assured he was not violating a Department of Defense directive.

"I'm going to keep marching. My Facebook page is back up and we have the Armed Forces Tea Party Patriots and we have the Armed Forces Tea Party," Sgt. Stein said. "When I left my house about 20 minutes ago we were well over 2,000 people strong."

At the time of print, the group had almost 7000 members and was growing rapidly.

Stein said he is happy to be a Marine and respects President Obama, and that his personal views would in no way inhibit his job in the military.

"At the same time, I feel like I have a duty...as an American to defend the Constitution and to defend my beliefs," Stein said.

After becoming more involved in the Tea Party over the last three months, Stein, a married 24-year-old with a 2-year-old daughter and another baby on the way, decided to start the Facebook page to express his frustration over Obama's health care bill. According to the DOD, military personnel on active duty are not allowed to run a political organization, participate in political campaigns or conventions, or actively try to solicit votes for a candidate.

"I sat down with Marine Corps leaders. They talked to me. They let me know that I'd done nothing wrong," Stein said. He said as long as he does not break any of the directive's rules, he will be able to administer the Facebook page.

Nevertheless, the media grabbed on to the story, with the liberal blogosphere calling for a court-martial and conservatives hailing him as a free-speech hero. The San Diego chapter of the ACLU got involved, releasing a statement defending Stein's First Amendment right to free speech.

Attending a tax day tea party in Temecula, Calif., his home town, Stein said despite the media frenzy that has centered on him over the last few days, he does not want to be seen as a leader of the Tea Party movement.

"It has been a little overwhelming," Stein said. "I don't want to be a leader, because...if you have a leader (in the Tea Party), there's a head of the snake to cut off. That's what we don't want to do."

Stein, dressed conservatively in a blue collared shirt, certainly did not stand out in the crowd of around 200 that gathered for the tea party, many of whom dressed patriotically in red, white and blue and carried American flags and signs criticizing Obama.

The party has grown dramatically in Temecula over the past year, according to event organizers. They say their groups are loosely organized, and word of mouth is a big factor, but more and more people are showing up to events. They attribute much of the growth to the area's high population of military families due to its proximity to Camp Pendleton.

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Posted Construction Unions Win Victory in Riverside to Dream Interruptedtag:kcet.org,2010:/socal/dream_interrupted//62.30632010-03-20T22:43:19Z2010-05-11T02:27:51ZThe Riverside County Board of Supervisors rejected an ordinance to ban "project labor agreements" that require contractors to hire only union workers on county-funded projects.Katie Evartshttp://www.kcet.org/cgi-bin/mt/mt-cp.cgi?__mode=view&blog_id=616&id=141Bucking the trend set recently by Orange and San Diego counties, this week the Riverside Board of Supervisors voted overwhelmingly against a proposed ordinance that would have banned so-called "project labor agreements" in county construction projects.

Project labor agreements are collective bargaining agreements formed with unions to set conditions for construction projects, including wages and benefits. They are, in essence, off-the-shelf union contracts.

After hearing impassioned pleas from those in favor of the ordinance, mostly independent contractors, and those against it, union workers in different trades, the board voted it down 4-1. The later argued successfully that as the county has never used a project labor agreement, or PLA, it was not necessary to ban them. Only Supervisor Jeff Stone, who introduced the ordinance, voted for it.

Detractors said PLAs are expensive and restrict open competition in construction projects. Those in favor said they guarantee proper wages and working conditions. One man told the board he had been to a construction site that did not use a PLA and saw that all the workers' cars had Utah license plates. Another alleged that contractors who go without PLAs give work to illegal immigrants.

The agreements are mostly used in large, complex projects that call for workers with various skills, and typically require all workers to belong to a union, or pay union dues for the duration of the project. There has been much debate over whether or not they actually bring down construction costs, although most published reports analyzing their usefulness have found that they do.

The use of PLAs in public construction projects has grown in California in the last few years, causing anti-PLA groups such as the Associated Builders and Contractors to start actively trying to get legislation passed in different parts of the state to have them banned. Most recently, they have succeeded in getting Orange County and San Diego County to bar the use of PLAs in county projects.

The issue is especially important in Riverside, where construction made up 11 percent of industry as recently as 2008. Now unemployment in the county is at a record-high 15 percent and the housing bubble has burst. With construction of new homes drying up, workers are vying for a shrinking number of jobs. Government-funded construction projects are a prize that everyone is after.

"The workforce under these project labor agreements would predominantly be non-Riverside County residents," said Ken Coate, who chairs the Riverside/San Bernardino Associated General Contractors. He said 85 percent of the construction workers in the county do not belong to a union and would not work on projects with a PLA. Union workers who spoke before the board disputed these statements.

Across town, the Riverside Community College District Tuesday night approved a PLA that will be used in a $350 million project it is getting underway to build new facilities.
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Posted Corona Mansion: Got Built But Nobody Came to Dream Interruptedtag:www.kcet.org,2010:/socal/socal_connected_online/dream_interrupted//616.199102010-03-09T20:21:52Z2010-05-15T21:27:29ZManny Valencia wanted to create an enclave in Corona, California where the rich would come to play. Now, he has a beautiful mansion with a nearly $10 million price tag, and no one willing to buy it.Katie Evartshttp://www.kcet.org/cgi-bin/mt/mt-cp.cgi?__mode=view&blog_id=616&id=141

Despite being located in one of the wealthiest enclaves of Riverside County, the house, which has an asking price of $9,995,000, down from the original $11 million, has not had one legitimate offer. Of the other seven lots on the private street designed to form a gated community, only one has a house under construction. The others sit as empty, graded plots of dirt looking up at the grandeur of the one completed mansion.

You might think of this place as the Big Mansion on the Prairie. Starkly alone.

"The interest has not been very good. It's been a lot of looky-looks, but nobody serious yet," said Manny Valencia, who developed this project from the beginning, purchasing the land in 1999 when it was still covered in citrus trees. His dream was to create a house fit for a king, along with an exclusive adjoining neighborhood that would afford owners a sanctuary from the rest of the city.

"When you drive up, there are some areas that are not that desirable, per se," Valencia said, "but once you get up here, it's a different story. Once you look around up here, it's just a pleasant, beautiful, secluded neighborhood."

Valencia personally financed the project and has overseen every minute detail in the planning and execution of building the house, a process that took more than six years, ending in 2009. Valencia said he did not consider the effect the financial crisis would have on the house, which cost him a grand total of $6.8 million. He started construction when the market was red hot only to finish when it had already cratered.

"I designed the home for the very, very rich and I've kind of never really looked into the global world economy crisis that we're in. That wasn't part of the way I looked at it, I just went ahead with the home and completed its original design."

Corona is a city that encapsulates the boom-town growth that hit much of Riverside over the last 20 years. Once agricultural land known as the "Lemon Capital of the World," it became a destination for people working in Los Angeles and Orange County who wanted cheaper housing in the 1980s. By the mid-90s it had become a full-blown suburb of Los Angeles.

Across Riverside County, sales of $1 million-plus homes fell almost 50 percent in 2009, the highest rate in Southern California, according to a report by DataQuick. Corona has fared better than some of the outlying communities in the county since the financial crisis began because of its more diversified economy and proximity to Orange County, but it too has fallen prey to plummeting property values.

"What's going to go on now for the next 24 months is very expensive homes are going to start being foreclosed on," said Bruce Norris of The Norris Group, who advises investors looking to buy property in Riverside. "We've already seen 7 and 8,000 square-foot houses get foreclosed on and sell for less than a hundred bucks a foot, so the bad news for this guy is he probably owns a $1.5 million property."

Valencia was inspired to design the home when he heard that Los Angeles Angels MVP Troy Glaus had bought a house down the street.

"It looked like a Mercedes parking lot out there. It looked beautiful," he said.

Valencia said he imagined the area, now sprinkled with large estates owned by doctors and lawyers, developing into a ritzy neighborhood populated by sports stars and jet setters, people with several houses who would appreciate the convenience of being an hour from Los Angeles, Palm Springs, and the beach. He even keeps the lot next door empty and includes it in the sale price. He says he envisions it being transformed into a practice field for athletes wanting to train during the off-season. Unfortunately, Glaus and his entourage have moved on.

Valencia remains confident that the quality of the house will demonstrate its value to potential buyers. On a recent tour of the property, he pointed out every detail, from the intricately molded ceilings to the inlaid wooden floors. Every inch was painstakingly crafted to fit his vision.

Investment adviser Norris said it doesn't matter how expensive the house was to build.

"The problem is that the cost of something really no longer has any relevance to what it's worth," he said.

So the house sits empty, awaiting parties to be thrown in the ballroom, movies to be screened in the private theater and sports cars to be parked in the five-car garage. Valencia said it will stay vacant until a buyer comes along who will meet his price.

"I know that there are some amazing people out there who, I'm sure, desire the lavishness of this home, so I'm just going to wait for someone to come by."

Norris does not agree with that analysis.

"Unfortunately, he overdid it. This isn't Beverly Hills. And even if it was, that probably would still be a problem."

Far from Beverly Hills, the development sits on a street called Casper, appropriate for what is—as yet, a ghost town.

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Posted Riverside Food Banks Face Rising Demand to Dream Interruptedtag:www.kcet.org,2010:/socal/socal_connected_online/dream_interrupted//616.28212010-02-22T19:37:44Z2010-05-10T23:32:52ZFood banks in Riverside are dealing with more requests from people trying to feed their families than ever. Many of those seeking assistance have never had to ask for food before, but high unemployment and massive foreclosure rates have led them to local charities for the bag or two of groceries that will help them get by.Katie Evartshttp://www.kcet.org/cgi-bin/mt/mt-cp.cgi?__mode=view&blog_id=616&id=141

"The tenant that was next to us who had this space has had his business downsized dramatically," said Daryl Brock, the executive director of Riverside's Second Harvest. "Like, 10 percent of the volume he used to do."

That makes sense, considering he specialized in making ornate building facades out of Styrofoam covered in plaster. The construction business in Riverside County, until recently a driving force of the local economy, has come to a standstill.

Meanwhile, more people than ever are looking for assistance feeding their families. In Riverside, 12 percent of the population lived in poverty in 2008, according to a report by the California Food Policy Advocates, a public policy and advocacy organization. Out of those low-income households, 31 percent were not getting enough food. That is where Brock comes in.

His food bank, which is part of the Feeding America network, the largest in the country, takes in food from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, farmers, local food drives, and large companies like Walmart. Charitable organizations come here to pick up food and supplies, which they then give out for free in their communities.

A walk through the giant warehouse reveals products of all shapes and sizes, from fresh fruit and vegetables to giant jugs of strawberry sauce to Snickers Bars and even some Christmas decorations. Brock likes to boast that he has anything and everything that can be found in the grocery store.

"We began to see through our agencies before the financial crisis that there was an increasing number of requests for assistance," Brock said. "As the housing crisis progressed into the unemployment crisis, those numbers have gone up to a 30 or 40 percent increase in requests for food assistance."

A report released this month by Feeding America found that 37 million Americans—one in eight—get food from their network of food banks and agencies. That is an increase of 46 percent from their last study, released in 2006. Brock said most of the increase is in users who have not had to get help before.

"The anecdotal evidence of the agencies tell us that the largest group of people coming to them for help are families that are either unemployed, underemployed, facing the risk of losing their house, or are people who have never faced this before."

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Posted Riverside's Mission Inn Strives To Bring Business Back To Downtown to Dream Interruptedtag:www.kcet.org,2010:/socal/socal_connected_online/dream_interrupted//616.27312010-02-13T05:24:24Z2010-05-10T23:24:49ZLocated in the middle of one of the most devastated regions in the United States, Riverside's Mission Inn Hotel is at the heart of an effort to disassociate the city from the housing market meltdown and bring people back to the downtown area. One step outside the hotel, however, shows that the plan is facing an uphill battle.Katie Evartshttp://www.kcet.org/cgi-bin/mt/mt-cp.cgi?__mode=view&blog_id=616&id=141
In the heart of a community devastated by the sub-prime lending and foreclosure crisis, Riverside's iconic Mission Inn Hotel stands as a symbol of the city's uphill attempt to emerge from economic trauma as a Southern California tourist destination.

Despite seeing a drop in guests recently, the hotel has poured money into its traditional holiday lights display, which, according to management, drew over 40,000 people to the lighting ceremony last year. And it's investing in new projects, including a swanky wine bar and a cupcake shop.

"It's been very difficult, but we're doing better than anyone else in the area," said hotel owner Duane Roberts, who took over the property in 1992. Roberts was an unabashed fan of the hotel, which was built in 1876 and is considered an eclectic architectural monument. The virtual community center of Riverside for decades, the hotel was visited by luminaries ranging from Susan B. Anthony to Albert Einstein. It's been a stopover for U.S. presidents including Teddy Roosevelt, Herbert Hoover, JFK, and George W. Bush. "We've spent money that very few hotels have done trying to get us to where we're better, more unique, and we're set so when things turn around a little bit better, we're the place for it," he said.

Set in the middle of Riverside County, 50 miles east of Los Angeles, the Mission Inn is surrounded by a region still reeling from the disastrous effects of the housing market meltdown. Riverside was one of the fastest growing metropolitan regions in the United States when the housing bubble popped. In November of last year, local housing prices were down almost 51 percent from their peak in June 2006 and unemployment stood at 15 percent, considerably higher than the statewide average.

The Mission Inn is just one of the institutions in downtown Riverside struggling to change a tarnished public perception of the city. In 2006 the city approved a $1.57 billion initiative called "Riverside Renaissance" to overhaul everything from the sewer system to parks and libraries. The newly reopened Fox theater just down the street from the hotel underwent a $32 million face lift, paid for by the city.

The economic squeeze has made rebirth anything but easy. The revamped theater's opening show, "Annie," had three of eight shows cut from its run because of poor advance ticket sales before it opened Feb. 3.

"It was really disappointing for the media not to pick on up the opening of the Fox, to tell you the truth," said City Council Member Rusty Bailey. He says the city is trying to separate its identity from the rest of the battered county and overcome stereotypes that have plagued Riverside even before it became infamous for its recent economic cratering.

"The OC (Orange County) calls us 'dirt people.' We had to overcome that for a few years," he said. "Those perceptions are erased almost immediately after you take them to the Mission Inn and over to the Fox and down through the Main Street mall."

Inside the walls of the Mission Inn Hotel and Spa in downtown Riverside, it is easy to forget that the magnificent building is in the center of a community in economic despair.

Taking up an entire city block, the hotel is a full-service resort that exudes eccentric luxury. There is a AAA Four Diamond steakhouse named for the hotel's owner, Duane, a presidential lounge with pictures of the many Commanders-in-Chief who have visited the hotel over the past century, and a maze of hallways filled with exotic trinkets, including a giant Buddha, waiting to be explored. Some estimates have placed the value of the antiques and art housed in the hotel at more than $5 million. One look inside the Francis of Asisi chapel, adorned with Tiffany's stained glass windows and a huge, graceful, gold-leaf inlaid altar, explains why the hotel hosts over 300 weddings a year. Any bride could picture her fairytale wedding here.

Outside of the hotel, however, the fantasy ends.

Along the renovated Main Street pedestrian mall, a project that cost just under $12 million, several storefronts sit empty. The many "For Lease" signs in the windows are a reminder that recovery is still elusive. Above one window, a Christmas wreath still hangs, out of place in the February sunshine. The shops still open for business are mostly silent. The Riverside Convention Center squatting behind the Mission Inn Hotel looks out on a huge, deserted concrete square punctuated by three lonely flagpoles. There is no murmur of crowd noise on Main Street, only the sound of light jazz pumped in by unseen speakers.

"We didn't think we were going to make it to December. We are here by faith," says
Gigi Hernandez, who owns an antiques shop across the street from the Mission Inn Hotel and who has lived in Riverside for 14 years. She said she has never seen things get as bad as they did last year.

The Mission Inn's Roberts, however, isn't giving up and is determined to weather the storm even with a big dip the Inn is feeling in corporate travel clients. "Business travel has been down about 20 percent at least," he said. "Salesmen that would stay two to three days are doing a one-day trip."

To remedy this, the Mission Inn is marketing itself as an affordable getaway to people who no longer have the funds to fly to Europe, and to companies that do not want to get flack for staying at better-known, pricier retreats.

"We're really going after the higher-end corporate market," Roberts said. "A lot of those are staying closer to home instead of going to Vegas or something else."

Roberts said unlike most hotels, his earns only 30 percent of its revenue from its rooms and the rest from the other services on site, mainly the restaurants. This means the economic troubles plaguing Riverside residents are also affecting the hotel, as disposable income for many local families are down.

Still, he said, the Mission Inn restaurants are bringing in money. He places so much faith in them that he added a wine bar named 54 Degrees to the lobby of Duane's Restaurant and installed a cupcake shop named for his daughter, Casey, on the outside of the hotel late last year to keep up with the growing popularity of the food service trends.

"I always want to be first," Roberts said of Casey's Cupcakes, "so by doing this we're the first one that's a straight cupcake shop" in the Inland Empire.

Roberts said the money spent on the city will eventually bring Riverside the business it needs to survive the tough times. As much as he loves the city, he acknowledges the stiff challenge of trying to lure clients to a resort hotel in a place so associated with financial ruin.

"If there was a way to do it, I'd sure love to be able to pick it up and move it along the coastline," he said.

Roberts, meanwhile, is banking on Riverside emerging from the recession, and is busy planning even more improvements to the Mission Inn.

"When things get a little better, hopefully at the end of 2010 or probably the start of 2011, we're going to do a big Margarita bar."